Line of Duty Series 2 Episode 6 Review

Line of Duty Series 2 Episode 6 Review

*This review contains spoilers*

With the finale of Line of Duty Series 2 comes the end of yet another TV show I wished that I had known about at the time it was first broadcast. Over the past six episodes, we've seen twist and turn, guilt and innocence, drama and heartbreak, right until the very end. Is it a satisfying ending? Very much so, even though it's one that I expect has probably polarised opinion.

In the end, it turns out that yes, DI Lynsey Denton was guilty. Except she wasn't, sort of. She was, technically, but not morally. And even technically, she was only sort of.

Basically, Denton was approached by DS Akers, after she had seen Alex Lawrence (Tommy Hunter was Series 1 in his Witness Protection guise) beating up Carly Kirk, who had just been kicked out of DCC Dryden's car when he realised that Denton had seen the two of them together (still following?). Akers wants to give Hunter over to other underground bad guys, to stop him being able to harm girls like Carly (as he has been granted immunity, he apparently cannot be convicted of any crimes), and wants Denton to help do this, giving her a wad of cash. It turns out that DI Cottan is also in on this (we know he is The Caddy from previous episodes). On the night of the ambush, Denton changes her mind and goes off on a different route, only for the assassins (Prassad and Cole) to find them anyway, due to a tracker planted on her car, which she finds and switches on to the car carrying Akers, Hunter and the two (innocent) police officers.

That's it basically, if you can follow that rather garbled explanation. Why did Denton change her mind last minute? Presumably with an attack of conscience (though Hunter was an evil shit who liked beating kids, Denton is still a professional, and was still sending him to death and torture). Dryden, therefore, is innocent of any involvement in the conspiracy, and Cottan ordered the hits on the other officers and Akers to eliminate anyone who knew of his involvement - Hunter is dead, which was the end goal, and Denton was spared as she didn't know of his involvement, and there was also someone for him to focus the investigation on. 

It's fairly watertight, though I still think that Dryden's manner in offering a promotion to Supt Hastings in the previous episode was too much of a red herring, as he wouldn't have acted so shiftily if he didn't have any involvement. Still, that's a fairly minor quibble. The real story is that, according to the end of episode notes, Denton pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to murder, but was found guilty by a majority. The evidence all points to her, of course (nicely done, Cottan), but it's still a tragedy as this is someone who ultimately trying to save young girls from a monster. All done in the wrong manner, of course, and it led to the death of four police officers (including Georgia from Episode 1), but her only involvement in a conspiracy was to hand Hunter over to other criminals, which was all he deserved. No one ever said that Line of Duty was trying to make a pleasant drama. 

Throughout all of this, the acting has been superb. Keeley Hawes morally ambiguous Denton has helped keep us guessing right until the very end, with an incredible range of extremes in her performance, from the almost psychopathic attack on her neighbour, to the despair at her mother's death. Vicky McClure as DC Fleming and Martin Compston as DS Arnott have been the two rocks holding the investigation together, fighting their own demons as they go along, particularly Fleming with the breakdown of her marriage and having to live in her car. Supt Hastings, played by Adrian Dunbar, is rightly earning many plaudits as the officer who is desperate to advance in his career to help save his marriage and financial woes, but knows that doing the right thing will scupper all those. Mark Bonnar as DCC Dryden was particularly brilliant in the interview of Episode 5, going from the cold man in charge, to the wreck at the end as he sees his world crashing down around him. I can't emphasise just how much I like Craig Parkinson in anything, but he's wonderful as DI Cottan, who is surely going to keep getting away with things with each progressive season until it all crumbles down at the very end.

The individual moments of this episode probably don't matter compared with the ending that closes the story, but there were some definite highlights. Watching Fleming hammer on her front door when she learns her husband has changed the locks (something that normally happens to the man) is heartbreaking, when you realise just what a disrupted home life she's been hiding. Arnott's reveal that he's been playing Denton (though how far back we don't know) is also top notch, helping to reconcile the two work colleagues who appeared to have been drifting apart. Hastings telling Dryden that he would throw the book at him, as other charges around him are dropped, tops off Hasting's character arc for the series perfectly.

Standing above them, though, it couldn't really be anything but the grand reveal of the truth. The flashback in Denton's head, and in particular the brutal nature of Carly Kirk's kidnapping, are what we've wanted to know about all along, and the knowledge that Denton is ultimately innocent finally puts our minds at rest. If we were in her position, given the chance to rid the world of a scumbag who targets teenage girls, wouldn't we try to do something? There's a lot to sympathise with her about it, and it's clear why she felt she couldn't come forward - Hunter is dead, which was the ultimate goal, and if she could have held out a bit longer without the money she was paid being found, there was no evidence to put her away.

Line of Duty has been utterly superb, right from the beginning. I'm desperate to catch Series 1 now (hurry up and return it please, library folk), and desperate to catch Series 3 as soon as it airs. I've not been this impressed by a UK drama since Spooks (discounting Doctor Who), and with Prey impressing equally on ITV at the moment, it's a very strong time for UK television.

Roll on, Series 3!

Line of Duty Series 2 Episode 5 Review

Line of Duty Series 2 Episode 5

*This review contains spoilers*

I swear, if Line of Duty gets any better, it'll be criminal (ahem).

This week, we see the walls come toppling down on the conspiracy in a huge way. DCC Dryden's involvement becomes plain, as he is arrested and charged with a whole host of offences, including murder and conspiracy to murder. At the moment, the order of business is looking like this:

• Dryden had sexual relations with 15 year old Carly Kirk, which was caught on camera by key witness Tommy Hunter
• When learning about Hunter wanting to bribe him, Dryden had PC Prassad and PC Cole murder her to keep her from talking, and also set up the ambush that killed Hunter

It all looks fairly clear at this point, were it not for the last minute reveal of an abortion by DI Denton earlier in year, and the hint of a smile on her face as she watched the news broadcast about Dryden's arrest. All of a sudden, it looks as though perhaps the ambush was set up by Denton after all, to incriminate Dryden as revenge for making her go through with an abortion and not leaving his wife.

Gods, I don't know who to trust any more.

The interview scene where Dryden is charged is absolutely superb. Watching Dryden go from cold, hard and in control to utterly deflated is mesmerising, as are the performances of Martin Compston as DS Arnott and Vicky McClure as DC Fleming, who go the opposite way from nervous at interviewing their commanding officer, to full-on bad cop at its termination. If anything, it tops the interview that Arnott, Fleming and Supt Hastings gave Denton in Episode 2.

Before we get to Denton's pleased expression whilst watching the television, there is one further hint that perhaps everything still doesn't quite add up. As Hastings points out, the photos incriminating Dryden were found on the car-computer of Prassad; surely that would make Prassad part of the conspiracy to blackmail Dryden, rather than suddenly turn around and help him. Just another small piece that means we're so close yet so far from the truth.

All the performances are top-notch, as ever. Performance of the week has to go to Mark Bonnar as Dryden, for that incredible switch of character in the interview room. Hastings conflict between doing the right thing and getting on with his career are brilliant as well. I don't have too much sympathy for him in one respect, because in no way should he allow his career to get in the way of justice for a murdered teenager and four police officers, but at the same time you can understand how difficult it must be to arrest someone so high up in the force. The scene between the two of them, where Hastings begins to outline that he thinks there may be more involved in the conspiracy and is clearly accusing Dryden, is brilliant, especially the way that Dryden all but confesses when he suggests Hastings might get a promotion if he wants it. If that's not a way of saying 'yeah, I did it, but if you drop it then it'll be worth it' then I don't know what is. In fact, if Dryden turns out not to have done it, I think that's one of the only ways we could call fault with the storyline; that scene would be a deliberate red herring, but an unfair one.

There are other little storylines knocking about, such as DI Cottan's slightly-corrupt cop (which ties into Series 1 and I've still not had a chance to watch), Fleming apparently being yet another officer who owes a lot of money (seriously, are the police that badly paid?) and Arnott letting himself down by not sleeping with someone for two weeks running, All in all, anticipation for the finale couldn't be higher.

Revisiting Doctor Who - Series 2, Episode 7 - The Idiot's Lantern

Revisiting Doctor Who – Series 2, Episode 7 – The Idiot’s Lantern

England. Sometime after WWII. Mr Magpie looks over his accounts, needing a miracle, whilst another family read, listen to the radio and freak out their grandchildren about brains melting. A typical evening in a 50s British household in other words. A bolt of red lightning hits the aerial of Mr Magpie’s shop, turning the TV back on, but it’s all rather strange when the lady on the TV starts talking directly to him. Now, are you sitting comfortably? Good! Then we’ll begin…sucking his face into the TV with red lightning, apparently.

Cue title sequence…

The Doctor and Rose are dressed ready for 50s America, to go see Elvis on the Ed Sullivan Show, so they’re a bit disappointed when it turns out to be 1953 London, all set for Elizabeth II’s coronation. The family with the melting brains are enjoying having a TV, though apparently the gran now has an awful face, and is knocking on the floor from upstairs, which I imagine is in no way connected to the face sucking red lightning thing. Turns out that, unlike everywhere else, everyone round here has a TV, as Magpie’s shop sells them for £5 a pop. It’s in old money but still, that’s like…not much.

Suddenly, a man is taken away in a car with a blanket over his head, which Tommy from the originally family says is happening plenty, with everyone turning into monsters. The Doctor and Rose pursue on their scooter, but the supposed police officers have initiated ‘Operation Market Stall’, which involves blocking the road with a market stall, and disappeared behind some big doors, unbeknownst to our heroes.

In his shop, Mr Magpie has finished something electronic, which pleases the television lady. Apparently she’s burning him behind his eyes, which is just plain mean. She’s a bit condescending too. I don’t like her. Too smiley. Never trust someone who smiles that much. It betrays hidden turmoil. Never go up and investigating a strange banging grandmother, either, which is a lesson Tommy should learn when he tries to do just that, before his father can stop him. Rose and The Doctor call on them, taking delight in getting Mr Connolly to do some housework, before Mrs Connolly begs for help with her mother. Piping Mr Connolly’s ego down, The Doctor hears of how people seem to be changing everywhere, before getting taken away by the police. Investigating the grandma, we see that she basically has no face now. It’s like it’s been wiped clean, or a blank canvas. The police/men in black turn up before they can do anything else, punching out The Doctor as they go. He heads off on his scooter to follow them, but Rose has become distracted by red lightning buzzing around the TV, and she sees the name ‘Magpie Electricals’ on the back of it before leaving.

The Doctor realises what’s happening with Operation Market Garden, finding a back way in, and finding a lot of people without faces locked up in a pen together. They react to him by clenching their fists and heading towards him, before a huge spotlight shines on him, and he warned to stay where he is. Meanwhile, in Magpie’s Electricals, Rose questions the owner on why his prices are so low, before the strange TV lady appears crying about being hungry. When Rose tells him that she knows the televisions are behind it, the lady reveals herself as ‘The Wire’, sucking Rose’s face off. Turns out her plan is to feed on the 20 million people watching the coronation.

The Doctor is being questioned by Detective Inspector Bishop, though he points out that the police aren’t really doing much detective inspecting. Turns out that faces being sucked off is a bit beyond what the police normally deal with, so The Doctor offers to lend a hand. He’s a bit downbeat though when the police bring Rose in. Very determined, though. He’s going to kick some ass.

The family are watching the coronation, with some thinly veiled threats from Mr Connolly towards his wife and Tommy (who has been goading him by suggesting relatives go upstairs to visit his gran), when The Doctor shows up. Mr Connolly tries to take control of the situation, but Tommy tells his father what a massive bellend fascist he’s being, as it was his father who informed on everyone in the street. Mrs Connolly also tells him to sod off, before going back to watch the coronation. Tommy goes with The Doctor and DI Bishop, heading to Magpie Electricals, where they discover the electrical thing Magpie made. When the sonic screwdriver is activated, it turns all the TVs on, and we see that everyone whose face has been sucked off is stuck inside one of them. So, Rose is alive! Woo! When Magpie appears, The Doctor gets all shouty again, but The Wire makes herself known, turning into a colour image and declaring that by feasting on everyone she will gain a corporeal body, which her own kind denied her. Turns out they executed her, but she fled in this form across the stars. The portable television that Magpie built is designed to transport her to a bigger transmitter, as she can’t do it all without. She starts to feed off them, but The Doctor stops it with the threat of the sonic screwdriver. Whilst The Doctor recovers on the floor, The Wire transmits to the portable TV and gets Magpie to drive her to a much bigger transmitter.

The Doctor rouses Tommy (DI Bishop has lost his face), figuring out that The Wire is headed for Alexandra Palace, the biggest transmitter in the area. They bring a load of electronics with them, as we see Magpie head up the tower with the portable TV. Tommy looks after the electronics in a room whilst The Doctor heads up the transmitter after Magpie and The Wire carrying, well, a wire. Red lightning starts to crackle all around as Magpie connects the portable television, and 20 million people begin to have their faces sucked off. The Wire chats bollocks for a while, Magpie moans and then gets disintegrated by The Wire, and The Doctor eventually saves the day when Tommy replaces a faulty electrical thingy in the big electrical thingy box, and he’s able to do something electrical to stop it. I don’t know much about electrics and electricals, but it turned the receiver back into a transmitter and he trapped The Wire in a VHS.

Back with the police, Tommy is reunited with his gran and The Doctor with Rose. Mrs Connolly kicks out Mr Connolly, and everyone else celebrates with a street party. After a pep talk from Rose, Tommy heads off to try and turn his Dad into a decent chap, as she and the Doctor share a glass of orange.

Now, all we need is for The Doctor to get rid of his scary 50s haircut, and all will be right with the world

I’ve seen this episode feature quite low on Who-fans lists before, and I think that’s a little unfair. It’s not a spectacular episode by any means, and it certainly isn’t going to make it onto any ‘best of’ lists, but it’s not a bad episode at all. Perhaps that’s the problem then; there’s just nothing that makes it stand out as being particularly brilliant. Certainly, if you asked me to name all the episodes of Series 2, this is one of the ones I’d be likely to forget.

It’s full of strong performances, as ever. Billie Piper in particular is fantastic when she puts on her commanding voice to school Mr Connolly about being British. I’ve got to say, Mr Connolly is a massive dick, but there isn’t a single role that the actor, Jamie Foreman,  plays where he doesn’t make it better because he’s so accomplished a playing a massive dick. Boy, do I hate his character in basically every role. He also does bully-turned-simpering-idiot very well, too.

Debra Gillett as Rita Connolly is perfect. The show could have run away with her finally getting rid of Mr Connolly, changing her instantly from a meek and mild mannered lady to a ferocious woman-scorned with a temper to put her husband in the dark, as is what usually happens in these circumstances; instead, she quietly tells him to get out, and calmly tells everyone it’s a new beginning (along those lines). It’s a wonderful change, and brilliantly played. You fully believe that she’s just so relieved and happy her tyrant husband is gone, and she’s looking forward to the future now. Rory Jennings as Tommy Connolly is also very good, convincing as the child who just wants to help solve the situation and find out what’s happening to his gran, whilst living under the harsh rule of his father.

Speaking of women in these times - yes, these jokes have been done to death in every form by now, but watching The Doctor force the bullying Mr Connolly to do ‘a woman’s job’ is still funny (‘Does the Queen do the housework?’). Especially so when Rose corrects him on his Union Jack vs Union Flag error. Which, of course, I wouldn’t have made.

The Doctor’s temper comes out in full force when Mr Connolly tries to take back control of his house. As a complete aside, I laughed with the way he said ‘I’m not listening-AH!, as it reminded me of Metallica’s James Hetfield, or WWE’s HHH. He’s quite angry throughout, really, especially when Rose loses her face.

The Wire is a creepy baddie, but Christ do I find her ‘hungry’ and ‘feed me’ cries annoying! Almost-enough-to-knock-a-ratings-point-off annoying. MEGA-annoying. Fantastic actress and performance all round though. Reminds me exactly of the type of presenter I’ve seen in classic BBC shows.

I laughed like a drain at ‘Operation Market Stall’ being nothing more than putting out a market stall. Brilliant!

If there’s one other thing, besides the ‘feed me’ annoyance, that I didn’t like about the episode, it’s David Tennant’s hairstyle. Christ, there’s some volume in there! I just think it looks terrible, and thank the gods it seems to have gone back to normal in next week’s episode. I was distracted by it all the way through!

Torchwood Mentions

Mentioned by a police officer

Overall

Nothing spectacular, but nothing too shabby either. Just a fairly run-of-the-mill episode at the end of the day.

7/10

Line of Duty Series 2 Episode 4 Review

Line of Duty Series 2 Episode 4 Review

*This review contains spoilers*

I'm not really able to articulate just how good Episode 4 of Line of Duty Series 2 is. It's full of revelation after revelation throughout, with parts of the conspiracy starting to slot nicely into place, yet still leaving us feeling far away from knowing the full truth about what's going on.

For Denton, there's no denying that we're now being formally placed in the 'believe her to be innocent' pile. She at least receives what appear to be more lawful-good guards, has a visit to her dying mother, and is then kidnapped by two crooked members of the police when they ram the van she is being escorted in off the road.

Of those two officers, one is identified by Carly Kirk's parents as being a Detective who came and took away evidence from her bedroom and possessions, something which Fleming explains wouldn't be done in the way it was, immediately letting us know something was up. He happens to also be Carly's boyfriend. Said boyfriend was seen talking to Dryden at a dinner event, which Carly was also working, which happens to be on the night that Dryden apparently took the blame for a speeding fine in place of his wife, which gives him an alibi for the night Carly disappeared...and the second officer is the hitman who murdered Georgia in Episode 1. It's pretty clear now that Dryden is behind a lot of this, though there are still plenty of pieces of the jigsaw to slot in place.

One of the best scenes of the series takes place early on, as Fleming, Arnott and Cottan convince Hastings to let them bring in Dryden about the traffic violation, whilst also hoping to probe into his alleged relationship with Denton. It's a wonderfully hostile performance by Mark Bonnar as Dryden, who could easily be either a master villain or just a high-ranking officer who's pissed off at being brought in for questioning. His denial of having had previous contact with Denton is thrown out of the window later on with the exposure of phone records connecting the two, plus staff at a hotel they used to meet remembering them. Hastings reaction to the whole affair, too, is superb, with his conflict between his future career prospects and doing the right thing leading him to try and put off the inevitable. With the amount of evidence that will be brought to him at the start of the next episode, though, he'll have no choice but to allow further questioning.

Fleming's moral guilt comes into play, too, as she ends up in tears in a toilet cubicle over being incorrect about Denton's involvement. Someone else with guilt on their mind, though probably more fearing for their illegal activities from Series 1 (so I believe) coming to light than anything else, is Cottan; recordings that DS Akers made before her murder show the key witness talking about corruption in the police threatening the immunity he has been promised. He talks about 'the two-faced bastard' (or some such description), which another video shows to be Dryden, talking about never granting immunity. He also mentions another officer further down the chain of command, which the expression on Cottan's face can only indicate refers to himself. Naturally, he offers to follow up this detail himself, so the likelihood at this stage is he'll weasel his way out of it, which will mean more Craig Parkinson for Series 3, and therefore this is a very good thing indeed.

Denton's visit to her mother is emotionally traumatic, as you'd expect from someone in her position, and there's conflict within her when her guards fall asleep and she has the chance to escape out of the front door. It's more evidence for her innocence that she doesn't, though following her capture at the end she probably regrets not having made a run for it.

All in all, this was the best episode of Series 2 yet, with all the pieces moving together nicely. There's only two episodes to go, so we'll soon have the full truth with plenty more twists along the way. It's fantastic television, this, and even pausing to write this review is leaving me impatient to get on watching the next episode. UK TV dramas don't get much better than this.

Line of Duty Series 2 Episode 3 Review

Line of Duty Series 2 Episode 3 Review

*This review contains spoilers*

We're halfway through the series now, and I'm just as hooked as ever. Though it felt slightly more muted this week (literally because there was no jaw dropping moment towards the end), Line of Duty remains incredibly gripping, with sterling performances throughout.

I'm writing this review a week or so after watching the episode (damn university assignments taking precedence), so my memory is starting to get a little sketchy, but there were several things that stood out to me with this episode. Firstly is Denton's slow descent into that of a beaten and downtrodden woman. It's looking increasingly more likely that she is innocent, as her situation worsens with a spell in jail under the care of two corrupt prison wardens (for whom torture with scalding water seems a natural course of action) eliciting more and more sympathy for the character. It's fairly difficult seeing someone who is obviously a hardened (too hardened in some respects) person looking like they are reaching the depths of despair. It doesn't need saying how brilliant Keeley Hawes is in all of this. It's great for the story that at the very end, Arnott tells her that he believes her story.

With respect of the rest of the police, they all look like getting into trouble themselves. Arnott clearly made a mistake getting into a relationship with one of the key witnesses (a nurse) to the death of the key witness from the opening episode. Hastings does the right thing in going to Dryden to confess his financial woes, but I doubt that's the last we've heard of it. Fleming tells Arnott that she is having an affair with the deceased DS Akers' husband, and DS Akers was apparently receiving large amounts of money from somewhere, putting her firmly under suspicion. So many secrets starting to come out, all of which are obviously going to end badly. Having not seen Series 1, and only getting a vague indication of the character from wikipedia, the introduction of Craig Parkinson's DI Cottan ruffles plenty of feathers (never has a character been referred to in so sweary a way so frequently) without me really knowing much about his character, but anything I've seen Parkinson in has delivered a fantastic performance, so I'm glad to see him in the show.

I'm definitely wishing that I'd been able to watch Series 1 first at this stage, but due to a very long wait at the library this isn't possible. It's little things like learning the witness who dies in Episode 1 is a main character from Series 1, thus making the shock discovery at the end of Episode 2 actually shocking, that I feel I'm missing out on, so I'm hoping that this isn't going to continue too much for the rest of this series. Whether Cottan's past is going to play a big part of not I don't know, but I suspect it will.

Denton's suggestion to Fleming that Dryden might have something to do with all this because of their affair a few years back gives us another suspect to throw into the mix, and it certainly seems to be the main catalyst for getting Arnott (and presumably soon, Fleming) on her side. If the rest of this series is as entertaining as the first half, I'm in for a huge treat.

Line of Duty Series 2 Episode 2 Review

Line of Duty Series 2 Episode 2 Review

*This review contains spoilers*

Following on from last week, DI Denton is charged with plotting the murder of her fellow officers, after she outs DCFleming as being a member of AC-12. Before her interview can be terminated, she lays serous accusations at the feet of DC Fleming, DS Arnott, and Supt Hastings. Just as she is being taken away to the cells, Witness Protection documents arrive revealing who the witness was, and the shock reverberates around the station. Meanwhile, Denton’s search for missing Carly Kirk hits a dead end, and DCC Dryden is in the frame for a driving offence that his wife claimed she committed.

Bloody hell, this just gets better and better, doesn’t it? Not content with last week with twisting and turning before throwing someone out of a window, this week the show leaves us screaming at the television ‘WHO IS IT??!?!?!?!?!’, as the witness is revealed to the police but not to us. I can’t imagine what it must have been like for people watching this once a week, and unable to skip straight to the next episode as I’m highly likely to be about to do.

Not content with giving us a phenomenally godsdamn frustrating cliffhanger, we also had one of the most gripping police interviews that I’ve ever seen, as Denton turns the tables on the three investigating officers. Just how well written, directed and acted must a show be to make what is essentially five people (counting Denton’s defender-person) in a room for twenty minutes absolutely unmissable?

The performances from all involved have been top notch, but of course it’s Keeley Hawes who is giving the best performance of all. She flips from looking innocent to guilty in the blink of an eye, and it’s truly impossible to say strongly one way or another. Though I’m still convinced she’ll be innocent (through no more than gut instinct), it’s a hell of a lot of fun speculating. She’s got a violently unpredictable streak that could either come from being a guilty crazy person, or simply someone under immense stress, suffering from PTSD and at the end of their tether. The unexpected thumping of Fleming in the stomach, and the few seconds where it looks like she’ll leave the deep fat fryer on in her noisy neighbours kitchen are the ac t of someone without a fully clean set of morals, but in her position would anyone else being acting completely rationally?

Elsewhere, the plot involving the search of missing Carly Kirk is surely going to tie into the main plot somewhere, particularly as the garage that has something do with the cars from the night of the murders and Carly’s supposed boyfriend (I’ll admit to not paying full attention to either of those bits, as I was still trying to wrap my head around so many other questions) keeps cropping up. DCC Dryden is also looking like he’s harbouring some guilty secret, which will surely affect the main plot.

It all add up to the excitement and drama that has been Line of Duty for these first couple of episodes. I’m damn glad that I’ve got the DVD so I can find out exactly what happens without too much delay!

Line of Duty Series 2 Episode 1 Review

Line of Duty Series 2 Episode 1 Review

*This review contains spoilers*

Well...holy shit.

Sometimes I really think I’m going to have to start watching TV shows as they appear on TV, rather than all in one go when they come out on DVD, just so I can enjoy the cliffhangers with the rest of the country. And by the gods, this has to be one of the most out of the blue and shocking endings to an episode I’ve ever seen on British television.

I heard the hype for this when it was first on. Well, Series 2, anyway. I didn’t even know there had been a Series 1, but I heard rave reviews about the first episode, and just never got the time to catch up with it. I heard rave review all the way through, in fact, and so I’m finally finding the odd hour here and there to try and get it watched. The same thing happened with Broadchurch, hearing wonderful things and then wishing I’d been there at the start when I finally saw it. Though I love having multiple series to watch straight after another, I still love the excitement that courses through my veins when I have to speculate for a week on what I’ve just seen. It’s fair to say that I’m feeling that right from the off with Line of Duty.

DI Lindsay Denton is contacted by DS Jayne Akers for backup when a key witness is compromised. When the convoy she arranges is attacked, all three police officers (bar Denton) are killed, and the witness taken to Intensive Care in hospital. Suspicion from internal Police investigators falls on Denton, with DS Steve Arnott and DC Georgia Trotman joining Supt Ted Hastings in questioning her. Their colleague Kate Fleming refuses to join the investigation because she trained with Akers. Denton protests her innocence, though she is assured that she is being interviewed as a witness, not a suspect. When Fleming follows Denton to a payphone one afternoon, she learns that the number Denton dialled was the hospital where the witness is being treated. After Denton heads to see her mother at a local care home, Fleming informs Arnott and Trotman, who run to investigate. When they reach the witness, an assassin is injecting the witness with something lethal. Arnott is knocked out, and Trotman is thrown out of a window.

I started this review by saying holy shit, and I’m going to repeat it again, in capitals, with full stops.

HOLY. SHIT.

I can’t emphasise enough just how much of a holy shit moment the end of this episode is. Seeing Trotman thrown out of the window like that is completely out of the blue and shockingly brutal, and my jaw took a while to come back up from the ground. Clearly, Line of Duty is another show that isn’t afraid to dispense with characters to further the story. The initial deaths of the police officers at the beginning of the episode, which kicks off the entire story is also difficult to watch.

At the heart of all this is DI Lindsay Denton, played brilliantly by Keeley Hawes. I’ve already been back and forth several times from believing her innocent to believing her innocent. There are any number of explanations we could offer for her shady actions (she takes off her neck brace because she doesn’t want her mum to see it and worry; she was calling the hospital  because she’s pregnant and wants to check on some test results), but it isn’t looking good for her. Especially after she showed her brutal side in attacking her neighbour (though to be fair, with the possible PTSD, worries about finances and having to listen to crap music blaring through the walls in the early hours, she’s not the only one who would snap). Then there are the moments to undoubtedly put the viewer on her side, the main of course being where she has her head flushed down the toilet by some of her colleagues. I found that scene a little hard to swallow if I’m perfectly honest, and I was convinced it was a dream sequence for a while, but we all react to grief differently, so...

I’m sure that I’d benefit from seeing Series 1 to learn a bit more about Fleming and Arnott, but already I like the way that Arnott seems genuinely open minded yet cynical, and Fleming is biased because she knew Akers and wants to see justice for her friend. The other characters have plenty to peak my interest, such as Hastings strained relationship with his wife and Deputy Chief Constable Dryden, who gives the impression that he wants swift justice which could see Denton unfairly implicated. Jessica Raines as Trotman was particularly excellent, and it’s a shame that we won’t see more of her.

Just like Broadchurch, this has got me hooked right from the beginning. If I wasn’t half asleep at the keyboard now then I’d be watching episode 2 right away. I know the series is going to twist back and forth, and to be honest I’ll be shocked if it turns out Denton is guilty (call it gut instinct), but I know I’m going to thoroughly enjoy finding out.